Cattle insurance plan okayed

KATHMANDU, Jan 31: In an effort to increase dairy production, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) -- the dairy sector regulator - has approved a subsidized cattle property insurance plan in 13 districts. As per the plan, farmers will get immediate compensation for loss of their milking cattle.

Officials said the plan, which will be implemented by NDDB in coordination with local dairy cooperatives, is expected to cover at least 500,000 milking cows of more than 300,000 farmers.


“The meeting of NDDB held recently endorsed the plan. It will come into effect immediately once the guideline for the implementation of the program is finalized," said D N Pathak, executive director of NDDB.

Though the Credit Guarantee Corporation has been ensuring cattle loans provided by Agricultural Development Bank Ltd (ADBL) to farmers, there is no direct insurance system for cattle.

NDDB has selected Chitwan, Makawanpur, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Kaski, Dhading, Lalitpur, Kavre, Nuwakot, Bhaktapur, Saptari, Baglung and Argakhanchi for the implementation of the plan in the first phase.

“We are implementing the program as a pilot project in 13 countries. We are mulling over expanding the program across the country after assessing the success of the pilot project,” Pathak said.

NDDB is mobilizing local dairy associations, dairy farmers´ cooperatives, district dairy cooperative association and private dairies to implement the plan.

“We will provide a certain amount to local dairy associations as seed money to compensate farmers for the loss of their cattle,” he added.

As per the plan, farmers will need to provide only 25 percent of the insurance premium. The remaining amount will be paid by NDDB.

“We will make arrangement to pay compensation to farmers through cooperatives in which the farmers are associated," Pathak added.

NDDB is collecting exact data of farmers and cattle before distributing subsidy on insurance to make sure that the amount wouldn´t be misused.

The meeting also decided to import 20,000 vials semen of improved breed of cows for raising dairy production.

“We have also decided to arrange a field visit for dairy farmers to India´s Bihar state, where dairy sector has flourished for the last couple of years,” Pathak said, adding that the board has also endorsed a program to distribute seeds of nutritious fodders to the farmers.

Big dairy producers in the country are sourcing fresh milk from Bihar to ease supplies in the market.

NDDB has also decided to observe National Dairy Day to raise awareness about the importance of dairy farming.

About 500,000 of an estimated 900,000 milking cows across the country are believed to be in the farms in these 13 districts.

The insurance program is expected to encourage more farmers into dairy farming, as it would secure poor farmers´ investment in case of loss of cattle. Despite growing demand for fresh milk, many farmers have been quitting dairy farming in the absence of incentives amid rising cost of milk production in recent years.

Published on 2011-01-31 01:04:58

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